The present invention relates to a removable shipping and installation clip for holding the input member of a master cylinder such as the master cylinder of a hydraulic clutch control for a motor vehicle and the like, in an extended position, such as to prevent premature operation of the slave cylinder operable by the master cylinder.
In co-pending application Ser. Nos. 344,495, now is U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,632 Ser. No. 417,336 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,361 and Ser. No. 477, 162, all assigned to the same assignee as the present application, there are disclosed apparatus for remotely operating a mechanism, such as a motor vehicle mechanical clutch. The apparatus comprises a master cylinder and a slave cylinder interconnected by a conduit such that to each displacement of the input member of the master cylinder, displacing in turn a piston internally disposed in the master cylinder, corresponds a displacement of the output member of the slave cylinder through flow of hydraulic fluid from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder. The apparatus is pre-assembled and prefilled with hydraulic fluid prior to shipment to a motor vehicle manufacturer for installation on a motor vehicle on the assembly line. A restraining strap is installed on the slave cylinder for maintaining the slave cylinder output member in a retracted position during transportation of the apparatus from its manufacturer to the motor vehicle manufacturer, and during installation of the prefilled apparatus on a motor vehicle. The restraining function of the shipment and installation strap is arranged to cease upon first actuation of the slave cylinder and to allow thereafter normal operation of the slave cylinder output member.
Preassembled, prefilled and pretested hydraulic control apparatus for motor vehicle mechanical clutches greatly facilitate the installation of clutch control systems on the assembly line of a motor vehicle manufacturer. Whether the slave cylinder is mounted on the outside of the clutch bell housing with its output member adapted to operate the clutch release lever, or whether the slave cylinder is of the annular type installed within the bell housing concentric with the driveshaft and adapted to directly actuate the clutch throw-out bearing, the restraining strap holding in a retracted position the output member of the slave cylinder greatly facilitates the installation of the slave cylinder forming part of the prefilled hydraulic apparatus, as it does away with the necessity of retracting the output member prior to installing the slave cylinder on a motor vehicle. However, the purpose of the restraining strap is defeated if the input member of the master cylinder is accidentally reciprocated between the time that the apparatus is fully assembled and the time that the apparatus is fully installed on a motor vehicle.
It is a common practice in the industry, during assembly of motor vehicles provided with a hydraulic apparatus for operating the mechanical clutch of the motor vehicle, to first install the master cylinder in an appropriate mounting aperture in the bulkhead or firewall of the driver compartment and to connect the input member to the clutch control pedal, at a specific assembly station on the body assembly line. The slave cylinder, attached on the end of the flexible hose connecting the master cylinder to the slave cylinder, is simply left suspended on the end of the hose or is attached by means of a string or wire to the front of the firewall until the body assembly line and the chassis assembly line converge at the "body drop" section where the body is placed on the top of the motor vehicle chassis of frame. At some other station, downstream of the body drop station, the slave cylinder is installed in its operative position on a mounting member forming part of the clutch bell housing, or within the bell housing, according to the type of slave cylinder being installed. If, during the time interval between installation of the master cylinder in the motor vehicle body and installation of the slave cylinder in its operating position, the clutch pedal has been accidentally depressed, the advantages provided by the slave cylinder restraining strap are lost, as the output member of the slave cylinder is no longer held in a retracted position facilitating mounting of the slave cylinder in its operative position.